So this year's 2016 Best Nine on Instagram consisted of a mix of family, our home, me, food, and a of course Lucas and Theo. For this year's holiday card (family photos by Sarah Hebenstreit) I decided to highlight our best six.

This year was a crazy mix of highs and lows, sideways and zig zags, especially toward the end of the year with the insane political climate and sudden celebrity deaths. I'm so grateful for all the love and support this year from family and friends. Happy new year!

Yep, so this one was probably the biggest thing that happened for our family this year. Many people didn't realize I had another job aside from Good on Paper. I was a senior designer for a large engineering/environmental/architecture firm in Oakland. And many people at that job had no idea I had my own company. The decision to leave was not easy, but it was the right move for me. Earlier this year, I got shingles and it was bad. LIke, really bad. My body was telling me I was spreading myself too thin with two jobs, two kids, a house, a husband and all the crazy schedules and things to think about in between.

In late October, I was asked by Grace Bonney of Design*Sponge (one of the most inspiring, influential women I know) to speak on a panel on her book tour for In the Company of Women. I was incredibly honored yet scared shitless to talk in front of so many people all wanting to know about my life and business. The whole night was a huge success--so much so that I was inspired by my own words and took to the big leap to go freelance full time and spend more time with my family. So far so good and I'm feeling way less stressed out about having to rush to work and leave work on time to pick up the kids, etc. It's a huge adjustment but things will fall into place soon enough. Feeling grateful for the most awesome boss and co-workers/friends.

Happy new year everyone! This year has flown by and with it came a lot of ups and downs for friends dear to my heart. I won't get into specifics but moving onward and upward while pausing to take in special moments seems to be the theme for this new year (and life in general, huh?).

So what's this new stash I speak of? Back in November I entered the Chronicle Books giveaway on June Kim's Instagram (I am a huge fan of June's work and love following her on Instagram) and ended up winning! Yay! I am super excited for my new stash of amazing books published by Chronicle Books. Best part is that for every person who pledged to #givebooks, Chronicle donated a book to a child in need through First Book.We love books around here and definitely gifted a good number of them this year.

And now through 1/9/15 get 30% off + free shipping with code NEWYEAR at Chronicle Books. Love that logo!

And for kicks, here's a shot of our family holiday card this year. With photos from our friend, the amazing Sarah at Modern Kids Co. (who was super pregnant at the time of our shoot, thanks Sarah!), we listed our Top Ten highlights of the year, along with some of Lucas and Theo's favorites. These include Legos, swimming, lots of music, and of course eating stuff off the floor (yes, I'm talking about you, Theo!).